Seal Your Home, Pay Less In Energy Costs — It’s That Simple

When you seal your home, you reduce the amount of air coming inside and going out. Those leaks cost you money summer and winter because they make your HVAC equipment work harder. Sealing the leaks isn’t a difficult process once you know where they are.

Find the Leaks
You can conduct your own test with just a few common household items. First, draw a simple sketch of your home’s layout and close the windows and exterior doors. Extinguish any gas-burning appliances and turn on the exhaust fans.

Walk through the house with lighted incense, covering the entire perimeter of your home, including the attic and basement. Note on the floor plan where the smoke wavers. The moving smoke indicates air coming inside. Typical places for air leaks include window frames, exterior doors, electrical outlets and switches, and places where the cables and pipes enter or leave.

Seal the Leaks

  • Seal exterior door leaks with fresh weather-stripping, available at home improvement stores. You can add a door sweep to the exterior doors to block drafts coming in or going out. These sweeps are available at home centers. If you need one, measure your door before going to help you buy the right size.
  • Check the window frames outdoors if your windows indicate leaks. You may find small cracks or crevices between the frames and the walls. Seal with exterior caulk.
  • Use expanding foam or insulation to seal your home where the leaks are larger, around pipes entering the foundation, coming out of the attic or around dryer vents.
  • Find foam gaskets made for sealing the light switches and outlets at home centers. Turn off the circuit breakers for your outlets before removing the cover plates and inserting the foam covers between the outlets and switches and their covers.

Hoff Heating & A/C, Inc. has provided quality HVAC services for St. Charles and St. Louis counties since 1983. If you’d like additional information to help conserve energy, please contact us today.

Hoff Heating & A/C, Inc services St. Charles County and the surrounding region, including portions of Warren, Lincoln and St. Louis counties. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!